


the heaven problem

by Anonymous



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Heaven, M/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 07:55:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18912751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Heaven can't take the stress of all the personal heavens, so Naomi makes a big decision.She flips the soulmate lever.





	the heaven problem

**Author's Note:**

  * For [generalshucks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/generalshucks/gifts).



> i started writing this around the middle of s14, lol, so i know it's not canon :/ also i'm mad abt where they went w jack's storyline so that's not included at all.
> 
> however thank you for reading!
> 
> for ren, i love u sm king!

“Hello, Castiel.” Naomi’s cold voice cuts through Castiel’s thoughts. He spins around to look at his old captor. “Relax. I'm here to thank you. What you did-- I know it wasn't for our benefit… but you saved us.” Castiel tilts his head ever so slightly.

 

“You’re welcome.” He leaves it at that, not quite sure where Naomi is trying to steer the conversation. The lights flicker a few times, and she sighs.

 

“I think I may have a temporary solution to our problems here, in Heaven.” That catches him off guard, and he steps closer.

 

“I’m listening.”

 

-

 

Sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for Cas to return, Sam stares at Dean’s back as he cooks. He watches the way his brother’s muscles tense and shift beneath his t-shirt, and he’s momentarily thanking Chuck that for once, he’s removed his flannel. He trails his eyes upwards, stares at the base of Dean’s neck, and then his eyes wander down, landing on his ass. Sam swallows and forces his eyes away and back down at the book he’s supposed to be reading. He thinks about the time they went to Heaven, and how now, all of their little family of five has been there.

 

“Hey.” He says, and he’s not really sure why he’s saying it.

 

“Hey?” Dean replies, equally confused as to what they’re talking about. Sam clears his throat, and turns the page he was only kind of paying attention to.

 

“Does it - I mean, do you ever -” He tries, and gives up, not sure if he even wants the answer to his question. Sam can feel Dean glance his way, and he tries again. “Do you ever think about when we were in Heaven?” It’s silent for a few moments, and Sam wonders if Dean’s caught on to what he’s really trying to ask.

 

“What about it?” Dean says, and Sam can hear an undertone of  _ Are we really going to talk about this right now?  _ in his voice. Sam ignores it.

 

“Do you ever think about...what Ash said?” He says, slowly, and continues his facade of reading. The warmth of Dean’s gaze on his shoulder makes his tense, but he resists the urge to look up at his brother.

 

“Sometimes. Maybe. I don’t know. I’m not really sure how to feel about it.” Sam chuckles lowly at his brother’s admission.

 

“Me neither. I didn’t even really think about the idea of soulmates before that...” he pauses, the unspoken  _ but it makes sense that that’s what we are  _ left in the air _ , _ “It does makes me curious. Are there different types of soulmates? Does everyone have a soulmate? How does the choosing of soulmates work? I have so many questions.” Sam starts to look up, but Castiel in the doorway diverts his attention.

 

“We need to talk about that.” He says, no ‘hello’ or ‘is Jack alright?’, which makes Sam think something serious is happening, and he’s immediately on alert.

 

“Yeah Cas, what’s up?” Dean slides in to the kitchen booth next to Sam, making the hairs at the back of his neck stand up and his thighs clench. Cas sits down and sighs, staring at his hands in his lap.

 

“It’s Soulmates.” He starts, looking up. “Heaven has too many personal heavens, and not enough angels to keep it running. As it stands, there are only about eleven angels left, and angels run Heaven like batteries. The angels that are in Heaven - it’s only about eight at one time - are trying their best, but Heaven is crumbling.” He pauses from his babbling to let the boys digest the news.

 

“Hold on, Cas, there’s only eleven angels alive? Total?” Sam immediately asks. Castiel looks at him and nods grimly. Dean doesn’t speak.

 

“Including myself, yes. And there are now zero available archangels from this universe. If Heaven fails, every soul will fall to earth, trapped in the veil, just like when metatron closed Heaven’s gates. Billions of ghosts will become trapped here.” Cas pauses again, but doesn’t wait for Sam or Dean to speak. “However, Naomi - oh, she’s alive, too - has a solution.” This catches Dean’s attention.

 

“Naomi? That bitch that did the mind control shit on you?” Dean practically shouts, and Sam bristles. Dean seems to sense this, and he relaxes a little, his thigh pressing against Sam’s.

 

“Yes, Dean, but there are much bigger issues at hand here. Do we really want to add billions of ghosts to our to-do list? Michael’s already a pretty big problem.” Cas argues, and Dean grunts in tentative agreement. Sam looks at Castiel.

 

“So, Cas, what’s Naomi’s plan then?” Cas sighs, again.

 

“Well. When Jack’s soul was in Heaven, the creature that rules The Empty - The Shadow - invaded Heaven-” Sam’s jaw drops, Dean’s fist clenches where it rests on the table, “bursting all the dams, opening gates that have been closed since God left, and loosened some locks.” Castiel clears his throat, as if he’s not sure he wants to continue. “You both know about soulmates. But they haven’t been, for lack of a better word, ‘in use’ since biblical times. Not every Soulmate pairing is explicitly romantic or sexual - there are plenty of platonic or familial soulmates.” Sam assumes this is what he and Dean are, and he’s not surprised to find himself disappointed at this fact. He’s known he’s in love with Dean since he knew what love was. It seemed natural to him. Dean was always a mix of so many feelings - loyalty, respect, adoration, love - that it was always impossible for him to put Dean into one box in his mind. He wasn’t just a best friend, he wasn’t just a brother, he was more than family, more than anything Sam could ever describe. Dean was just _Dean._

 

“When God left, he shut off the Soulmate ‘lever’ - as Metatron called them - and gave people free will in that sense as well. However, by doing that, it gave almost every soul their own Heaven, greatly increasing the amount of personal Heavens that angels have to power.” Sam frowns.

 

“‘Almost’ every soul?” He questions. By now, Cas looks downright uncomfortable.

 

“Majority of human souls get their own space since Soulmates are ‘turned off’, except for...special circumstances. Chosen few Soulmate pairs. Their bond may be so strong that their Heavens are connected anyway. Jimmy and Amelia Novak have a conjoined Heaven, for instance.” 

 

“And me and Sam.” Dean’s looking down at the table, and for once, Sam can’t really read his voice.

 

“Yes, and you two. Your bond is so strong that Heaven itself cannot keep you two apart.” Sam feels warm at this, knowing that everywhere, even in death, they’re together. He feels Dean drop his hand to Sam’s knee and squeezes. He knows Dean feels the same.

 

“So what’s Naomi going to do? Turn it back ‘on’?” Dean prompts Cas.

 

“Yes. Tomorrow. The world is going to panic.” He says, so matter-of-fact, that Sam doesn’t truly register what the angel is saying. “When Soulmates are implemented, a number of changes are going to happen to the universe, and I believe Naomi is going to have an angel or two possess some high-ranking officials to smooth things over. Otherwise, it’ll be a mess.” 

 

“What do you mean? What will change? Will people fuck like rabbits, like when we saw that cupid?” Dean asks, and Sam has to bite back a snicker.

 

“Not exactly. Every human will develop a Soulmate-identifying mark, for one thing. There will also be some other physical changes when Soulmates touch,” Dean moves his hand off of Sam’s knee, and he already misses the warmth, “and things such as that. In extreme bonded pairs, there may even be some psychic effects. Overall it’s a large change from the norm, and I’m sure even if Naomi assigns an angel to help the transition, people may panic for a while.” Dean nods and stands up, walking towards the food left on the counter. “This also means that all souls currently in Heaven will be moved into joint Heavens with their soulmates. It should cut the current amount of Heavens by at least a third, if we factor in the possibility that not everyone’s soulmate has died yet, and that some Soulmates may end up in Hell.” Sam nods and closes the book in front of him.

 

“So when is this happening? I assume things will...feel different.” He sneaks a glance at Dean, and they make brief eye contact before Sam chickens out and looks back at Cas.

 

“Tomorrow morning, I believe. I asked her to give me time to explain this to you two, so that you can alert other hunters. People who are already aware of the supernatural existence should know what’s truly going on.” Sam nods again, and stands up.

 

“Alright then. I’ll get Jack from his room, we can eat dinner, and then start calling everyone we know.”

 

-

 

When Sam wakes up the next morning, he doesn’t really think anything of it. Still in that brief moment after waking, where he’s not aware of monsters or angels or demons or anything, he mind wanders, not surprisingly, to Dean. He thinks about Dean’s smile, and his slightly faded freckles, how he looks with a gun in his hand, and how Dean looks at him when Sam’s just did something to help a case, like Sam’s the most important person in the world. A wave of love and calmness rushes over him, and if he wasn’t already laying down, he would collapse. It’s an unfamiliar feeling, and he’s swimming in it, letting it lull him back to sleep, until his arm starts to burn.

 

The pain isn’t unlike how he felt in the Cage, the feeling of lava being slowly poured over his skin. He stumbles out of bed and makes his way to the war room, clutching his arm to his chest. Sam yells for Cas, and when he gets to his destination, he sees Cas, Dean, and Jack sitting at one of the library tables. Dean seems to be in an equally bad situation based on the grimace on his face, and it soothes him a little knowing he’s not alone. Jack rushes up and helps Sam to the fourth chair at the table, next to Dean, and the four of them just sit there, not speaking. Sam’s arm still burns, but it subsides marginally.

 

“So what’s happening? Why do I feel like I’m being burned alive?” Sam questions, still grabbing his arm. 

 

Castiel looks at the table. “Your soulmark is manifesting. The arm seems to be a painful area. I am sorry.” Dean grunts.

 

“Hey, I have the chest. I’m dying here, dude.” He grits out, and Sam can tell he’s in a lot of pain. He turns to his brother, and Dean turns too, confused. Sam tentatively moves his hand out from clutching his forearm and gently presses the pads of his fingers to Dean’s chest, right above where Sam is pretty sure his anti-possession tattoo is. Dean visibly relaxes, closing his eyes, his spine relaxing and edging forwards slightly, leaning in to Sam’s touch.

 

“Oh.” Is all Sam can manage to say, because his arm is still on fire and he’s touching Dean. He’s not quite sure why he chose that spot to touch, it just seemed right, and  _ Dean liked it! Dean liked Sam’s touch! _

 

Dean doesn’t open his eyes, but his hands make their way to Sam’s other arm and lightly holds it. The fiery feeling immediately disappears, and Sam sighs. He feels his eyes close, and he drops his head to Dean’s shoulder, feeling more relaxed and content than he has in months.

 

-

 

Sam’s not really sure how long they stay that way, but Jack calls “Sam?” from the hallway and he picks his head up and looks at his kind-of-son. 

 

“Yeah, Jack?” He says, softly, because he half thinks that Dean’s asleep and even if he isn’t, Dean hasn’t moved, and Sam’s more than okay with that.

 

“I think you should look at the news. Castiel said something about a Presidential announcement? What is that?” Sam becomes more alert, and takes his hand off of Dean’s chest. Dean slowly lets his hands drop from Sam’s forearm, but the burning doesn’t start again, to his relief. 

 

“It’s when the President of the United States - that’s the guy who’s in charge - makes an announcement for everyone living in the US. That’s us.” Sam explains, then stands. He just stands there, looking down at Dean, who looks up at him, for a good minute before he holds his arm out. “Come on, Dean.” Dean grabs his hand and they both suck in a breath as Dean stands up. 

 

Touching Dean is like taking some sort of roofie. Sam feels  _ relaxed _ and  _ good, _ in a way that he hasn’t since they were kids, when something as small as a  _ Good job, Sammy _ from Dean would make Sam’s entire week. He knows, he can  _ feel _ that it does the same thing to Dean, and he has to pry his hand away from Dean’s as they walk to Dean’s TV room. His hands practically itch with the desire - no, the  _ need _ \- to touch Dean, but he knows that their pairing is just familial and that Dean doesn’t feel the same way, so he doesn’t.

 

-

 

The Presidential announcement doesn’t tell them anything new, of course, and there’s no mention of Heaven, obviously. Just that scientists have discovered  _ wow! _ Soulmates exist, and their name is marked on your body in their handwriting.

  
It makes Sam happy, he realizes, to be able to look down and see  **_Dean Winchester_ ** in Dean’s big bold handwriting on his forearm. He hasn’t seen it himself, but he can imagine a small  _ Sam Winchester _ on Dean’s collarbone, and that makes him even happier. It’s hard, solid proof that Dean is  _ his _ , that him and Dean belong together. 

**Author's Note:**

> i don't have an update schedule but i will be updating soon i promise !!! ^^


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